AMB Class #4: LBJs

Prince William Sound

Back before I was a birder - before I even knew that there was such a thing as "a birder" - I was a marathon runner.  I had set out to run a marathon in every state, and when I got to Alaska, it was, fittingly, my 49th state.  With some great friends, I flew up to Anchorage, then over - across Prince William Sound and views of too-beautiful-for-words glaciers - to the fishing village of Cordova.  My friends and I were all there for, not only the 26.2 mile race, but also the wildlife.  We were all interested in seeing Bald Eagles; the reputation of Bald Eagles in Alaska had not escaped my otherwise non-bird-thinking brain.  A driver picked us up at the little airport, and drove us to our hotel in town, right on the Sound.  We were looking for eagles;  the driver was making sure we didn't hit a moose or a bear or whatever.

Something flew across the road in front of us, and Melissa - who was already a birder, I just didn't really understand that at the time - saw the motion and said, "what was that!".  The van driver replied, without a thought, "it was an LBJ".  Huh?  We were all mystified?  A past-presidential little bird?  So we asked what?  

And that's when I learned the term LBJ:  Little Brown Job. 

Birders everywhere know it; it's the term to describe a small nondescript bird, especially one you don't get a good look at.  So it's not really a surprise that our guest speaker in Class #4 - Dave Leatherman - starts off his talk on the subject of Sparrows with a reference to our 36th president.

Dave Leatherman is, if I may (apologies all around, since this is not a post about owls), a hoot.  He's a tall man; gravity is working on his features but hasn't quite won the battle yet.  He was an entomologist with the Colorado State Forest Service for long enough to have earned his retirement, and he knows birds.  He knows sparrows.  He has a deadpan style, so if you're not paying attention, you might miss his jokes, and, oh, that would be a shame.

Because he's a very very funny man.  Didn't I just say he's a hoot?  He's a laugh-until-you-have-the-hiccups-but-don't-quite-know-why comedian.

All the while imparting great information.

So it's not Dave Leatherman's fault that I ended the class not feeling like an expert in sparrows.  After all, his first message was:  practice, practice, practice.  His second message was that gull people are weird, but junco folks are okay to go drinking with.  Now, my friends, THAT is information that sticks.  

Olive Sparrow
Laguna Atascosa, TX
4/8/12

So rather than try to condense my pages of notes from our Sparrow lesson, I've gone back to my photo files to practice, practice, practice.  The fact that there are something on the order of 50 different sparrow species in North America makes our LBJs quite daunting to get to know.  Thank heavens that there are only 30-some of those who show up in Colorado regularly.  Here comes some practice, practice, practice......along with factoids that are new (to me, at least), interesting, or - better yet - a little of both.


First up:  Did you know that towhees are sparrows?  Huh.  I sure don't think I did.  Dave Leatherman paused during our lecture;  listened through the open garage-style door at the Nature Center;  then pretty much just walked off to see a Spotted Towhee.  Sparrow.  I don't think I'll forget that lesson.

Green-tailed Towhee
Barr Lake, CO (Banding Station)
9/22/12

Spotted Towhee
Kingery residence, CO
6/23/12

Eastern Towhee
Grayton Beach State Park, FL
10/13/12

 By the way, did you know that the Spotted Towhee and the Eastern Towhee used to be considered one species called the Rufous-sided Towhee?  When you look at the two side by side, it's pretty easy to see how that happened.  And easy enough to also see the differences.

 Hey, more towhees!  I mean, sparrows!  Well, um, yeah, Towhees!

Canyon Towhee
Big Bend NP, TX
6/27/12

California Towhee
Point Reyes National Seashore, CA
3/26/13

Our homework reading assignments tell us to try to learn the sparrows by classifying them by Genus.  But that just leads to more maddening bird world changes.  What was once a long-standing genus  Aimophila was broken out in 2010, so the following couple of birds used to be in the same family, but are now just kissing cousins.  Confused yet?

Cassin's Sparrow (formerly genus Aimophila, now genus Peucaea, try pronouncing that!)
Pawnee National Grasslands, CO
6/15/13

Rufous-crowned Sparrow (genus Aimophila)
Big Bend NP, TX
7/1/12

Next, we're encouraged to review the sparrows of genus Spizella altogether.  I kind of like "spizella";  it sounds like Italian ice cream, and I'm all for ice cream, Italian or any other kind.

American Tree Sparrow
Cherry Creek SP, CO
11/25/12

Chipping Sparrow
Berkeley Park, CO
5/9/13

Brewer's Sparrow
Pawnee National Grasslands, CO
9/7/13

This next guy gets a genus all to himself;  quite frankly, I think none of the other sparrows really liked the "poo" factor of the genus "Pooecetes" and let the Vesper Sparrow have it all to itself.

Vesper Sparrow
Buena Vista, CO
9/1/12

But then again, the Lark Sparrow also gets a dedicated genus, too.  Perhaps this is because nobody else touches this one for drama.

Lark Sparrow (genus Chondestes)
Highlands Ranch Back Country, CO
5/18/13

And now, more surprises.  Did you know that buntings are sparrows?  Well, neither did....I mean, yeah, so did I!  But, of course, if you knew that, you also knew that only some buntings are sparrows.  Of course.  If they were all one thing or another, where would the challenge be in that?  Our particular bunting - the Lark Bunting, aka the Colorado State Bird - just happens to be one of the sparrow-buntings.  (I told you before:  you want the pictures, you're gonna have to suffer some too.)

Lark Bunting
Pawnee National Grasslands, CO
6/15/13

Next up?  Another sparrow that deserves its own separate genus (Passerculus).

Savannah Sparrows
Meyer Ranch Open Space, CO
8/9/12

Now comes the Kennedy clan of the sparrows:  genus Ammodramus.  Lucky for me (and this blog, that might otherwise run out of space), although there are 7 sparrows in the genus, we don't get them all in Colorado, and I've only seen this one:

Grasshopper Sparrow
Weld County, CO
6/15/13

Now, here's the thing about this next sparrow.  There's just one species, but everything that touches on Fox Sparrows tells you that it will soon be split into at least four separate species.  Me, I'm just glad that I happened upon one of them;  I'll worry about figuring out which subspecies when I get some free time, say, in 2056 or so.

Fox Sparrow
Point Reyes National Seashore, CA
3/26/13

Now the appropriately named genus Melospiza.  With that name, you might expect melodious song, and you might just be right.

Song Sparrow
Point Reyes National Seashore, CA
3/26/13

Lincoln's Sparrow
Staunton SP, CO
6/22/13

Let's pause for a moment in the interest of international amity, shall we?  Although not a North American bird, this one found a way into my photo files.  Let's give South America a moment:

Rufous-collared Sparrow
Quito, Ecuador
7/22/13

Now comes my absolute favorite genus, the Zonotrichia.  How can you not love that name?  Or love all these birds;  lucky for us that these birds like to hang out in flocks, so we have good chances of seeing them.

White-throated Sparrow
Red Rocks, CO
10/21/12

Harris's Sparrow
Desoto NWR, IA
4/27/13

White-crowned Sparrow
Point Reyes National Seashore
3/24/13

Golden-crowned Sparrow
Red Rocks, CO
10/21/12

Oh, and just in case you were thinking you had all the tips and tricks, there's one more non-sparrow sparrow in this collection:  the Dark-eyed Junco.  I bet you're smart enough to know there are about 187 subspecies for this bird, but don't worry, I won't quiz you on the subspecies.  Oh wait.  That was a lie.  I'm definitely going to quiz you, but I'll make it an easy one..........

Dark-eyed Junco
Mount Tabor Park, Portland, OR
6/9/13

........what subspecies of this bird might I have seen in Oregon?  Buehler?

Well, if y'all remember what Dave Leatherman said about junco people, it's fitting to close here.  I'm going in search of a few of those folks myself.